


Time Ran Out

by RipplesAreStable



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Commander Karkat, Crying, Dave Strider is only mentioned, Earth C (Homestuck), Embedded Images, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Homestuck 2: Beyond Canon, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Mentioned Vriska Serket - Freeform, Not Really Character Death, Panel Edit, Past Character Death, The Homestuck Epilogues: Candy, a ton of other mentioned characters idk, but its like.... hes subject of the story lmao, crying with the homies, i dont know how to explain it other than lol sad noises, its mostly platonic but you can take it as romantic if you want, john and karkat just yknow. talk it out and cry like bros, mentioned Vrissy maryam-lalonde, the romantic relationships are overall just heavily implied, this is really just about PAIN and CRYING WITH THE HOMIES
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:54:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27363088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RipplesAreStable/pseuds/RipplesAreStable
Summary: "HE DIDN'T EVEN SAY GOODBYE?"Shit.
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, John Egbert & Karkat Vantas, John Egbert/Karkat Vantas
Comments: 7
Kudos: 59





	Time Ran Out

John is not a man of emotions.

Well, yes, he is actually, but there's a difference between his own and the emotions of another. He has spent years ignoring the events going on in front of him, all because he's been caught up in his own stupid misery. His friends have been on the front line fighting against a woman they all had once called family or a friend, but what had he been doing? Just moping around a house that was never really a home, only a ghost of a much simpler time. a time where he and his friends weren't a bunch of gods to a universe that would've been completely foreign to his 13-year-old self. John finally came to his senses, and yet he still acted foolishly. He was too caught up with his own son to notice that his old friend and her name-sake had run off for Gods knows why, probably something cocky and idiotic, if he knows Vriska well enough. In an attempt to salvage the only assignment he'd been given by his friends, he followed after them, but he seemed to have lost their track. This is how he got to here, sitting woefully in front of the ashes of his former home that really wasn't home. He doesn't know why or how long he sits there, but when he finally gains awareness of the world, an old friend laying his hand on his hair. Karkat's judging sight fell upon him, his eye staring down at him, glowing red.

He was almost surprised at the look of him. Sure, he'd seen Karkat every once in a while on television, but recordings really didn't do him justice. it'd been years since he'd last talked to him in person, so this was the first he really took it in. The scars, the eye-patch, the buffness, the red-eye, everything. he was no longer the troll he remembered him being. of course, his fury stayed, but there was a certain hardness to him that had drastically changed him. of course, it's not that much of a surprise, he was literally commanding a fucking _revolution_ against Crocker corporation, but it still surprised him.

For some ridiculous reason, Karkat sat down with him to talk. It'd been hours since he'd sat down. Of course, his stupid mistake caused Vriska and Vrissy to get captured by Crocker Corp. whoop dee fucking doo, who didn't see that one coming. As he talked to Karkat, he noticed that the troll hadn't mentioned... _anything_ about himself, honestly. He was just going about complaining about John to John himself. It seemed as if he'd been avoiding something, but that means it can only be one thing. Before he could let him go, he asked him to talk to him about something, at least _about Dave._

Dave. He hasn't really gotten past his disbelief of the situation yet. He was just _gone_ without even a warning. It Irked him that his former best friend was no longer with him among the living.

It hurt.

He didn't know how to talk about it, especially not to the others. they just dropped the news on him, and he just kind of... blew it off at the time. there were more important things going on, like how  _ Jade and Rose had a fucking child that got kidnapped, what the actual fuck _ . He had to deal with the current situation, and work on the whole "grieving" thing later. While John was not a man of emotions, he still cared about his friends. his friends... that he had distanced himself from for years.... fuck. nevertheless, he still cared about them. He knows how Karkat works, and that he wouldn't be bothered to discuss his own emotions unless he badgered him into it.

And Badger he did.

Unfortunately, he didn't expect him to be ranting about their relationship of all things. Doesn't he want to talk about his death instead? As he continued to listen to him, he realized how bad he fucked up.

_He doesn't_ _know._

He doesn't know about Dave. shit. shit. shitshitshitshitshitSHIT. He just opened a huge can of beans that he did not realize he was opening. He doesn't know and now he has to tell him. He has to tell Karkat that Dave is fucking dead. He isn't even ready to actually address it himself, but now there's no going back from this. he was already on the tirade. Karkat is just going on and on about _BLAH BLAH IT'S FINE, I DONT KNOW WHY YOU'RE WORRYING ABOUT ME I WAS AT THEIR FUCKING WEDDING FOR FUCKS SAKE. HELL, WHERE IS THAT DOUCHE-BAG? MATTER OF FACT, WHY DONT WE BRING JADE HERE TOO?_ and all John could think about was how _suffocating_ this is. He can't even get his attention and tell him probably the shittiest news he could get, all the while fucking SHIT TALKING about him! it's all so frustrating and depressing that the only thing keeping him from just breaking down and crying is the absurdity of it all. His throat was throbbing, eyes stinging as he held back the emotion as he tried to get his attention. all he could do to make him stop was just screaming his name.

He shut up. oh god.

he spits it out. now there's nothing holding him back as his eyes finally give up and the tears he'd been holding back finally fell on his lap.

It was dead silent. he's begging Karkat to just  _say something. anything._

"He didn't even say goodbye?"

Shit. Now what? He can't even fucking look at him. Karkat's voice was the quietest he'd heard in years. just by the sound of his voice, his entire hard-ass demeanor melted into misery. his voice sounded so heartbroken, and John's doing everything he can from spilling any more tears.

As he said before, John is not a man of emotions. he's a man of goofs and jabs. Of shitty dad jokes, and pranks. He didn't even cry over his father's death. If he didn't even outwardly address his own emotions, how was he meant to discuss _Karkat's_?

Fuck it. He turns to Karkat, and  _holy shit it is so much worse than he imagined_ . His face was shell-shocked. His eye was glassy with unshed tears. his brows furrowed in this way that just makes John's heartache even worse than it already did. he was just frozen in heartbreak, and John doesn't know what to do.

"No. Not even once." John croaks.

that's when the dams broke. Karkat couldn't keep on whatever strong and furious façade he had left and collapsed in on himself. He was shaking and holding his arms as he sobbed. the noises that wracked the troll worsened the pain that was overwhelming his heart. John was frozen as he watched the man he regarded as a leader broke down right in front of him.

"Fuck..." Karkat choked out in between his weeping. This finally jumped John out of his frozen state, finally reaching out to Karkat to comfort him.

He expected Karkat to push him away, but he graciously took the embrace. his grip was strong, but it was firm. He could feel his friend shake like a leaf in the wind as he held John for dear life. John couldn't say anything, in fear that he too would begin to fall into inconsolable despair. Instead, he opted to rub his back as a comforting repetitive action. He held a shivering Karkat and began to think about Dave. He was one of his closest friends in his life. the only constant. Of course, Rose and Jade were there too, but at the end of the day, Dave and John were there for each other. And yet, he honestly hadn't talked to him in so long. when even was the last time he talked to him? he doesn't even know. He doesn't even fucking remember his last conversation with Dave. How fucking Pathetic. He can't even fucking remember when he last talked to his own fucking best friend, what the fuck is wrong with him? God he can't even fucking remember his best friend correctly, he's so fucking useless.

John's thoughts spiraled out of control over his self-worth, and without even realizing, he was holding Karkat just as much as Karkat was holding him. they were in front of the ashes of his ghost imprint of a house, and the two of them held each other for dear life, as it was the only thing holding them down on Earth C. Despite Karkat and His responsibilities, at that moment right then and there, they only had each other, with a mutual heartbreak over their late friend. 

He didn't know how long it had been, but he was suddenly aware of their surroundings again. the sky had become darker, and the fire had finally dimmed down from what he remembered. His head was foggy with empty insults to himself and what-ifs that will never fully play out. Karkat had finally calmed down, as well as himself. they looked at each other knowingly, silent. John looked at his former co-leader, his face stained red with his tears. Instinctively, He reached out and wiped off his tears. Karkat looked at him in confusion, but John just smiled sadly. Karkat, finally aware of his position, shifted to make it more comfortable for John. they watch the falling flames of his home as they quietly reminisce over how ridiculous Dave was.

There's so much going on Earth C, but maybe, taking the time to just hurt with another person instead of just hurting on his own was better than any other feeling in the world.

He was tired, and Karkat probably was too, but they still sat together in front of that pile of rubble as the world was trying to process the events of that day.

Because being on their own was much worse than being together. They both know this too well to express.

Someday, it will be better. but for now, they need to hurt before moving on. They won't be running out of time again anytime soon.


End file.
